It has become an obsession, and this time, of a slightly different crowd.

Finally, men around the country are coming out in hordes proclaiming their affinities of prime time-pleasures. Of what sort? Nighttime soap operas.

Shows such as “The O.C.,” “Desperate Housewives” and even sappy reality TV shows have gained just as many male fans as female. (If you think I’m kidding, consult The Facebook, unfortunately becoming the new Gallup polling system of college students.)

And the best part about it all is that the boys aren’t afraid to admit it. Anything taboo about sneaking into a separate room to watch “Beverly Hills, 90210” has just about disappeared like Lou Bega and Mambo No. 5.

They finally moved past Step One in Kaitlin’s Plan to Admitting your Pop Culture Addiction — denial. (For the men reading this, go ahead and pat yourselves on the back.)

For example, I bring up the epidemic that is consuming men for an hour each Thursday evening — that little teen-soap called “The O.C.”

Every Thursday night, male friends of mine reschedule plans around when the program is on, and we’re talking a large sampling of men, not just the run-of-the-mill followers of reality television and “Melrose Place.”

And instead of telling friends they’re “at the gym,” “watching ESPN” or any other assortment of excuses, the letters “O.C.” just roll off their tongues.

Not that big of a deal, right?

I ask you to rewind to 1994. “90210” (I trust you understand what I mean when I shorten that, if not, please excuse me while I cry) was in its fourth glorious season, Shannen Doherty was on the cusp of leaving the set for bigger and better opportunities and America was hooked.

What was a bit more surprising is how, existing beyond Dylan McKay followers, there also existed a completely separate demographic: men.

And not just a few.

It was a secret indulgence; falling along the same lines of if you were to ask your guy friends if they’d ever seen an episode of “Melrose Place.”

Thousands of men tuned in, sometimes in seclusion (as gathered by talking to male friends and others), to see what would be the new controversy in Beverly Hills. But very few, to my knowledge, were self-proclaimed followers. It wasn’t the “hip” thing to do, and frankly, a bit weird when compared to the norms of the day. Anyone that was seen in front of the tube while the Peach Pit was on screen didn’t fall into the category of bo-hunk of the year. It was almost seedy.

Don’t ask the reasoning behind that, but that was a different time, and being caught watching “Melrose Place” or “90210” was almost as embarrassing for those boys as being walked in on by their moms, well, with just their socks on.

The “90210” groupies of the ’90s are more prone to being “O.C.” fanatics. I’ve actually witnessed firsthand, on several occasions, college boys as well as grown men engaging in conversation comparing the two.

At least they’ve finally come to terms with their past addictions (listed further down in my 12-step program to admitting pop-culture fanaticism, Step Three.)

These verbal exchanges are sometimes as basic as comparing the California settings and wondering if FOX pulled “90210” out of the archives to create the mold for “The O.C.” A bit more in-depth, other male friends of mine (that will remain unnamed to preserve their machismo) actually break apart characters on both, pegging Marissa of “The O.C.” as a more emaciated Brenda and Donna blend, that’s been “wrung through the wash and hung on the money tree” for a bit.

And, if you point out what these boys are doing, they immediately go on the defensive because the issue is still a bit sensitive for them.

Nowadays, it’s not even just “The O.C.” that has men and women acting like zombies on the couch for a night of the week, scolding anyone that may cross their sight of the TV screen. Other shows that fit into the nighttime soap opera category are various hormone-ragers on the WB (including Buffy re-runs) and of course, “Desperate Housewives.”

Is there a new level of acceptance for modern society when it comes to who should and who shouldn’t watch certain programs? Possibly. Maybe the boys are just afraid of concealing what we already suspected.

– Kaitlin Thaney can be reached at [email protected]